Sales of the 2004 version of VisionStitch – SATRA’s stitching efficiency and training software system – have already broken all records and are set to reach £250,000 (US$450,000) before the end of this year.

The major market is in South-East Asia where SATRA already have more than 100 customers and many VisionStitch installations have already taken place at companies supplying the leading sports footwear brands.

‘This surge in orders is due, in no small part, to the efforts of our Asia Pacific Marketing team. SATRA is now putting more and more resource into tapping the Far East and especially Chinese markets’, says Steve Rose, business manager of SATRA’s management and quality services group.

‘The new 2004 system has been developed to be more user-friendly and more advanced than any predecessor in improving stitching performance and operator training.’

VisionStitch uses visual displays to help maximise output, train new operators and improve the performance of experienced workers. It is applicable to all stitching applications, regardless of size, stitching method, machinery, price bracket or fashion content.

More than 200 of SATRA’s international member companies use VisionStitch. These include major brands who, as well as experiencing significant improvements in stitching quality, are also reporting 20% improvements in stitching efficiency and up to a 30% increase in speed of change to new styles of stitching.